Chapter 11: Not Coveting Beauty, But Coveting Talent
In order to get the publishing fee as soon as possible, Gao Xing once promised the publishing house that she would submit the manuscript within two weeks. However, when the deadline approached, she found that she could not finish the revisions at all!
In the study on the second floor, Gao Xing was lying in front of the computer, scratching his head.
After deleting those indescribable fragments from "Feng Yue", the entire work was reduced by one third. She racked her brains but could not figure out how to fill these gaps.
To make matters worse, just as she was getting overwhelmed, her computer screen suddenly went black with a ding. She initially thought the battery was out, but after plugging it in, she realized it had completely shut down. No matter how she restarted it, the screen remained pitch black. No way!
Gao Xing hurriedly took apart the back cover of the computer, but halfway through she remembered that she didn't know how to repair computers at all, so what was the point in taking it apart?
Speaking of computer repair...
The figure of the person downstairs appeared in my happy mind.
He could fix computers, but... would he be willing to help? He might even accuse her of blackmail.
After much thought, Gao Xing decided to go downstairs and give it a try. After all, she was extremely poor and didn't know how much it would cost to repair the computer, so she decided to save as much as possible.
In the living room on the first floor, Shen Xingjian was leaning on the sofa, holding the back of his neck with one hand and reading "A Brief History of Time" with the other. When he heard footsteps, he teased without even looking up: "Oh, you finally got up? I thought you had evolved into a version that didn't need to eat!"
The cohabitation agreement stated that Party A was willing to provide Party B with three meals a day free of charge, but this did not mean that Shen Xingjian would cook and save food for her according to her schedule. Gao Xing had to follow Shen Xingjian's habits for every meal. She would eat whatever he ate and when he ate. If she missed it, she would only have to wash the dishes.
However, since Shen Xingjian's schedule was extremely regular, with breakfast at 7 o'clock, lunch at 12 o'clock, and dinner at 5 o'clock, just like the school cafeteria that opened at regular times, Gao Xing had no objection.
She had been busy revising manuscripts these past few days, often working day and night, often going to bed at four or five in the morning and waking up at three or four in the afternoon. The only time she could catch up was dinner. Therefore, Shen Xingjian was surprised to see her coming down at around one in the afternoon today.
Gao Xing walked over slowly with his computer in his arms, and stopped beside the sofa, hesitating about how to start the conversation.
When Shen Xingjian saw her approaching, he immediately crossed his chest and became wary: “What do you want to do?”
Seeing his pretentious look, Gao Xing tried hard not to roll her eyes. She simply opened the computer in her hand and put it on the coffee table and asked, "You said last time that you could repair computers?"
Realizing that she might not be after his beauty but his talent, Shen Xingjian felt a little relieved.
He sat up straight, staring at the computer in front of him, which had already turned off. He reached out and pressed the power button twice, but found no response. He said, "I told you it was time to replace this crappy computer!"
Gao Xing didn't want to listen to his nonsense and went straight to the point: "Just tell me if it can be repaired?"
Discovering that she was asking something of him, Shen Xingjian immediately put on airs: "What's your attitude? Is there anyone who asks for help like you?"
Gao Xing took a deep breath and asked as gently as possible, "So what do you want?"
At that moment, he suddenly felt like a liberated serf singing a song. Ever since Gao Xing barged in, he had been forced to submit to her tyranny even though he was in his own home. Now, at last, he could hold his head high.
Shen Xingjian wanted to take this opportunity to make things difficult for him, but the image of Gao Xing standing in front of Shi Yunran a few days ago came to his mind...
She clearly knew nothing, but was willing to help him out.
In this world, not everyone is willing to stand up for you.
"Just owe it to me first!"
In the end, he just curled his lips and reached out to take the computer.
Shen Xingjian operated the wheelchair back to the room to get the repair tools. After skillfully removing the back cover of the computer, he found that the problem was with the monitor.
Gao Xing nervously leaned closer: "How is it? Can it be fixed?"
"Your computer is old enough to belong in a museum. You should replace it!" He said disdainfully as he fiddled with the parts. "It's just a pile of junk. Repairing it is pointless!"
When he heard that it couldn't be repaired, his happy expression obviously dropped.
After spending some time together, Shen Xingjian also got to know her a little bit. She seemed to be very short of money. Not only was she pale and thin from hunger, but she also only had two sets of clothes. She even wore a T-shirt with the collar untied.
And the day she first arrived, she thought he was a ghost and ran away in fear, but in the end, she bravely returned and refused to move out. If it weren't for the real hardship, who would be willing to take the risk of living with someone of unknown origin?
In the end, Shen Xingjian softened his heart and closed the computer and said, “But…it’s not completely unrepairable. Replacing the screen might still work for a while.”
"Really?" Gao Xing's eyes lit up.
"But I don't have any spare parts." Shen Xingjian thought of the repair shop he often went to: "There is a repair shop called Longteng in the computer city. The price is fair and the boss is also very skilled. Instead of buying spare parts to install it, you might as well go directly to the store to replace it. It also has a six-month warranty."
"Then...how much will it cost?" Gao Xing was most concerned about the price.
“The cheaper ones are one or two hundred, and there’s no upper limit for the more expensive ones. It depends on your needs.” Shen Xingjian replied.
One or two hundred? That's not bad, she can still save it if she saves.
Gao Xing opened his phone and searched for the computer repair shop called "Longteng" on the map. After eliminating some other shops with the same name but irrelevant, the only one left was the one near the telecommunications building.
"Is this the one?" she asked, pointing to the photo of the sign with red background and yellow letters.
“That’s it.” Shen Xingjian nodded.
Gao Xingben was about to say that this store was not in the computer city, but in the telecommunications building. But then he thought, ten years have passed, Mingjing Lake has become a resort, and it is not surprising that the nearby businesses have moved away.
"By the way, when you get there, tell the boss my name..."
He suddenly stopped talking in the middle of his words, and suddenly remembered that there were ten years between him and Gao Xing, and his boss might have forgotten him a long time ago.
Hearing him boast like that, Gao Xing naturally asked, "Can I get a discount?"
He choked, his mouth slightly stiff: "I can... enjoy the original price service."
Happy:"……"
After searching the address on her phone, Gao Xing didn't waste any time and immediately headed to the Telecom Building. Following the navigation instructions, she quickly found the store nearby.
On a midsummer afternoon, heat waves rose from the asphalt road. The moment I opened the glass door, cool air mixed with the aroma of food and the background sound of short videos hit me in the face.
Behind the counter, a young clerk in large shorts was slumped in a recliner, browsing his phone. Seeing a customer, he stood up and asked, "What can I do for you?"
"Repair the computer. The screen is black." Gao Xing cautiously did not mention replacing the screen and put the computer bag on the counter.
The clerk pressed the power button a few times as usual, but when he found it wouldn't turn on, he unscrewed the base, took a look, and said, "The display is broken. We need to replace it."
Hearing the same answer, Gao Xing was secretly surprised. It seemed that Shen Xingjian did not lie to her.
"How much does it cost to replace a screen?" she asked.
"It depends on what you want. We have it at all price points."
"What's the cheapest?"
"five hundred."
"So expensive?!" Gao Xing widened his eyes.
Shen Xingjian clearly said that it could be done for one or two hundred yuan, but the price has doubled or tripled. It's only been a few years, and inflation is so severe?
"Is this expensive? Other places charge six or seven hundred!" The clerk said in a tone that our store is already very affordable.
If she could save a few hundred yuan, she could still save that. Five hundred yuan would be her living expenses for two months! Although she was not paying for food and lodging now, she had several exams next month and the registration fees had not yet been paid. She couldn't use the registration fees to repair her computer, could she?
She didn't believe it, so she secretly searched nearby on her phone and found that the market was indeed like this. Compared to this, this store was considered conscientious.
“Can it be cheaper?” She tried to test it out, “It was Shen Xingjian who introduced me here.”
Although I know it may not work, I still have to try it. What if?
"Shen Xingjian?" The clerk frowned and thought for a moment, "I don't know him."
Sure enough, it’s still the original price service.
Gao Xing bit her lip and was in a dilemma. Just as she was about to say that she would think about it again, a middle-aged man with gray hair came out from the inner room. He looked like the boss.
"Who were you talking about?"
“Shen Xingjian!” Gao Xing immediately repeated, “Shen Xingjian introduced me here. He said he used to come to your house often to buy things!”
Hearing the name, the boss frowned and thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, oh, oh! I remember now. It's the young man who lives in Mingjing Lake, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! It's him!" Gao Xing nodded quickly.
"Oh, that was so many years ago!" the boss recalled as if it were a lifetime ago. "I remember he bought his first computer from me. It had a top-of-the-line computer and graphics card, and it cost over 10,000 yuan! That was a big order for my store back then!"
"But later on, he came less often, and basically asked us to ship the spare parts he bought to him within the same city."
As the boss spoke, he seemed to remember something and turned to the back warehouse to dig out a dusty computer bag.
"That's perfect. Do you have his phone number? He had a computer repaired at my place a long time ago and never took it back. We mailed it to the old address, but no one signed for it, and the package was returned. We called him, but his number is no longer in service. After all, it's worth tens of thousands of dollars, so we don't dare to just throw it away..."
The boss blew away the dust, took out the computer, plugged it in and showed it to me, "Look, it's still working!"
Gao Xing recognized it at a glance. This was the laptop that Shen Xingjian had used that day to check the lottery. She asked tentatively, “This computer…when did he get it repaired?”
The boss scratched his eyebrows and thought for a moment, "Probably around 14... or 15? Almost ten years ago!"
14? 15? In other words, in Shen Xingjian's timeline, this computer might not have been sent for repair yet? He hadn't come to pick up his computer for such a long time. Did he forget about it?
Gao Xing didn't know Shen Xingjian's mobile phone number, but wanted to get a discount by doing his boss a favor, so he suddenly had an idea and said, "He has a lot of computers, maybe he forgot it? How about I bring it to him for you? You give me a discount?"
Seeing that the girl looked quite honest, the boss thought for a moment and said, "Giving her a discount is a small matter. The key is if you take the computer away without giving it to him, and he comes to me to ask for it, who will I turn to?"
Although the probability of this happening is relatively small, the boss is running a business after all, so he should always consider himself more.
Gao Xing quickly took out his ID card and said, "Don't worry about it. I will definitely deliver it to him. You can take a picture of my ID card and come to me if you lose your computer!"
After some bargaining, the boss finally agreed to give her a 20% discount.
The computer is her livelihood. Even if the boss refuses to give a penny off, she will still have to repair it in the end. Four hundred is better than five hundred, at least she can save a hundred.
The boss looked at her computer and said that it was an old model and the store didn’t have a display screen. He needed to arrange for another one and would have to wait two or three days. He asked her whether she wanted to leave the computer in the store or come back in two or three days.
I decided to go back for another visit, even though the chances of it being repaired were slim. But what if the screen suddenly got better after I went back? Wouldn't that mean I wouldn't have to replace it?
Gao Xing was still hoping for a lucky break. The boss flipped through the old account book again, pointed to a record and said, "He asked me to add a few accessories for him at the time. I paid for the accessories, but he later rebuilt the system and hasn't paid for that yet..."
The boss smiled and said, "It's not much, just 120. How about you help him settle it?"
Happy: “Ah???”
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Gao Xing: Why do we have to pay for this? [Cracks open]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
